missionary lessons for kids #2 - plan of salvation

the plan of salvation is an interesting one.   i searched high and low for some pictures for the kids to color while listening to the lesson as well as activities and some visuals without words.   here are several links and the finished product i came up with.

the coloring pages i used- downloadable pdf 

  http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8403

the no words version for the visuals - also downloadable

http://ayearoffhe.blogspot.de/2011/10/2011-wk-42-plan-of-salvation.html

i had to make it a jpeg so i could paint out the words and translate it to german.   i added the resurrection to it as well. 

i took the plan of salvation maze from these conference packets - http://simple2url.com/GeneralConferencePackets
the maze is in the senior primary version.   love these packets.

allow the kids to color while they listen to the lesson.   you can ask the to color the part you are talking about, what do they think it would look like?   you can color your own version too.   i think it's less of a lesson when you are just "coloring together".   then you can cut them out after explaining it and ask them to put their version in order.

some other ideas would be cut out some large puzzle pieces and let them glue their artwork to the puzzle pieces and put their puzzle together over and over.   we are gluing it to a strip of paper and hanging it up.

a few more references -
 http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4319
this is another version that looks like they have cut out a person and are moving the person through the plan.   you could also use a picture of the child to move through the plan.   if your family is dealing with a friend or loved one passing away, use a picture of that person.    you could do a lot of role play with pictures of family past and present to show how we all move through the plan at different times but all end up in the same place together.   the second link has cut outs in color and black and white to represent the body and spirit.   this concept could be used with family pictures as well to show that the spirit is still alive, just separate from the body.

the official church version -http://www.lds.org/friend/1994/03/sharing-time-the-plan-of-salvation-offers-me-peace?lang=eng&query=plan+of+salvation

the days of our many lives

as a kid i remember missionary farewells.   i remember wanting to speak at my uncle's farewell but being to scared, (i was like 6ish), and being so sad that i couldn't actually speak.   everyone was sad and yet happy to see the missionary go and so happy to see him come back.   as i got older, i enjoyed having the missionaries over for dinner and was sad to see them transferred,  but that is kind of part of it.   it wasn't until here in germany that i made another connection.   we still had the missionaries over all the time, but now, when they went home to america, they went to my home too.   i was sad to see them go because we enjoyed having them over.   i also enjoyed having fellow americans over.   then, as i kept up with them on facebook, i saw the welcome home they received, and it hit me.   it was one of those, "AH-HA!" moments that kind of makes you go, "duh!" at the same time.

a person is born into a family with parents that teach them.
they grow and learn as much as they can.
then they go from one place to another to have experiences that they cannot have where they have grown to this point.
they go.
the people around them have lost the presents and communication with them for a while.
it seems like an eternity but is actually a very short part of their entire existence.
they learn and they gain experience.
then they leave that place and return to their place of origin.
the people where they have been serving, learning and gaining experience, are sad to see them go and lose their presents with them.
the people who welcome them home, rejoice and celebrate their return.
they bring that experience with them into their life at home.

what i realized is that this story is the same for missionaries and every person that leaves their pre-mortal home to come to earth.   go ahead, read it again with the thought of premortal, mortal and afterlife in mind.   obviously, there are some differences.   one of the big ones is that the missionaries that go home, leave mortal life, and we can still keep up with them through facebook, email, etc.   this is painfully clear when you have friends or family that have moved onto the afterlife.  but it has reminded me that those people are still there and just moved onto another place and not just gone.   it has made the reality of an afterlife more tangible for me actually.

honestly, i think this realization also took me having family pass to the afterlife to really take hold.    of course i knew that my family was not gone, but this helped me really comprehend and accept it with my mortal mind.   we will see how it does when i have missionaries leaving my own home in years to come.